An Interview with Susan Van Kirk by E. B. Davis

Who knew going home could be deadly?

I will show them success. Artist Jill Madison repeats this mantra when she returns to her small hometown to restart her life. Hired to manage a new community art center, she vows to make it successful so the people of her town will have what she did not have—an education in the arts. She no sooner accepts the job than a burglar makes off with an expensive sculpture and an uninvited corpse is discovered in the basement. Even worse, the body belongs to someone Jill knew…well. Investigating what happened places Jill right in the path of a murderer.

How will she keep her job, run her first big event, and escape a killer who plans to paint her out of the picture permanently?

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In Death in a Pale Hue, Susan Van Kirk’s first novel in her new Art Center Mysteries, readers are introduced to main character Jill Madison, a thirty-year-old amateur sleuth. Bad publicity resulting from finding a corpse in her art center building might be unfortunate, but when the corpse turns out to be the third bestie of her high school years, a shock for all, the discovery compels Jill to investigate. Susan’s secondary characters are well drawn. Angie, the second of their high school triumvirate, abets Jill’s forbidden investigation. Her oldest brother Tom, a police detective, is the one forbidding.

 

Susan portrays well a family left in the aftermath of tragedy. As the youngest and the recipient of their mother’s artistic talent, Jill tries to enact the tenets of their parents’ trust to set up the art center as a nonprofit and memorial to her mother for whom the center is named. Oversight by a fifteen-member board of directors keep her on a short leash.

 

Please ask WWK blogger Susan questions about this new series.                 E. B. Davis

Is Apple Grove, Illinois, a real place or based on a real place?

Apple Grove is a small town in my head. It’s smaller than my hometown, and larger than my current town. The art center in my current town was built on an old apple orchard, so I thought Apple Grove would be an apt name for the town. The only real thing in this book is the art center in our town, which has a very scary basement. I’d never go down there alone.

 

Jill’s parents were a biracial couple. Why did they settle in Apple Grove, which in the 1980s wasn’t as accepting as Chicago?

Jill’s mother, Adele Marsden, was a sculptor, and once she got her MFA, she was offered a job by Apple Grove College. Howard Madison, her husband, sold insurance and was able to start his own agency anywhere. Their family was unique since Apple Grove had mostly a White population in the eighties, but as time went by, they were welcomed by the liberal college faculty as well as people who bought insurance from Howard.

 

Did their children Tom, Andy, and Jill experience prejudice?

In their earlier years, yes. Adele Marsden was Jamaican and Black, and her husband, Caucasian. Because their oldest child, Tom, took after his White father, he didn’t experience prejudice, unless he found himself defending his siblings at young ages. Andy and Jill both had soft honey skin tones, and Andy took the brunt of racial incidents. Because he was a talented athlete, he gained friends through the teams he played on. He protected Jill, who occasionally came home crying in grade school. But by the time they were in high school, everyone knew them from clubs and classes, and they had lots of friends. In small towns, people often go from first grade through high school with classmates they’ve known over twelve years. It’s a different dynamic than suburbs or urban areas.

 

Is the Brookington Award real?

No. I made up that name for a sculpture award that Adele

Marsden won. It illustrates her fame in the art world.

Their parents’ wills provided for a trust to be set up for the art center. Even though their attorney oversaw the trust and set it up as a nonprofit, wouldn’t the children have any say in who was appointed to the board or how it was run?

The trust provided for the Madison lawyer to set up the board. At the time they made their wills, the Madisons didn’t know where their children might end up living. The board works independently of the family. However, Jill’s name and art background would certainly give her the edge when it came to applying for the directorship. Her interview revealed her passion for giving children and adults creative experiences in the art world.

 

Why doesn’t Jill head off Ivan, the board president, who evidently doesn’t like her, by confronting him? Why doesn’t he like her?

Jill isn’t big on direct confrontation. When she returned to Apple Grove, her confidence was at an all-time low. She’d rather avoid Ivan, as seen by her arduous work of keeping him from coming to the art center in person. Ivan is one of those people who would be difficult no matter who took the job of executive director. He is irritable, unhappy, and looking for someone to blame for anything. He also likes to be in control, as evidenced by his constant micromanaging of Jill’s work. It’s not that he dislikes her; he’d simply rather be making the decisions and calling the shots. He doesn’t work well with others.

 

Jill is an artist, but she hasn’t painted in five years. Why?

Whether you’re an artist or part of some other creative venture, your ability to create is often tied up with your emotional life. In Jill’s case, her mother’s life as an artist is closely tied in with Jill’s thoughts about art. It’s difficult to paint a brushstroke when you’ve lost confidence in yourself. It all began when Jill’s parents were killed in a senseless accident with a drunk driver. Since then, her emotional life, as well as her ability to paint with ease, have suffered. She’s hoping, by coming home, she’ll resolve the issues in her head when it comes to the family tragedy. Then maybe she can paint once again.

 

Why can’t Jill keep track of her phone?

She’s a bit ditzy when it comes to her phone. She has so many things going through her mind because of the work at the art center that she loses track of it. Jill must keep a whiteboard on the wall filled with lists of what she needs to do to get this center up and running. It’s a huge job, filled with details, and this means she occasionally loses her phone. She’s under pressure because she alone carries the weight of making the art center a success.

 

What is the relationship between the local and state police? Even when called to process a crime scene, do the local police still have investigative jurisdiction?

They work together in a small town like this. Tom collaborates closely with the coroner, Abe Calipher, and calling in the state police would be normal procedure in this case. They’ve rarely had a murder in Apple Grove. Once the state police document the scene, they turn it over to the coroner and Tom to finish. State resources will also be helpful in identifying the body and processing the evidence.

 

Why does Jill have her brother Andy’s ringtone set for “Welcome to the Jungle?”

Andy’s the crazy kid/adult in this family, always willing to try anything. When they were growing up, he went through school just ahead of Jill and made her look like a saint in their parents’ and teachers’ eyes. Her teachers would say, “You’re Andy Madison’s sister? Seriously?” It’s not that he was ever in serious trouble, but he was often rash and didn’t have much common sense. On more than one occasion, Howard got a phone call from the school principal about Andy. As an adult, his partner, Lance, talks him out of his risk-taking. Jill thinks that song reminds her of Andy—crazy in the jungle. This would be a great contrast to her ringtone for Tom: “The Theme from ‘Law and Order’.”

 

What kind of dog is an Akita?

Originally from Japan, the Akita today has two strains: a Japanese strain and mixed American strain. They are affectionate and loyal to family, good with children, and not so happy around strangers. The male grows to 27-28 inches at the withers and anywhere from 100-130 pounds. They can be solid white with a black mask, or mixtures of brown, black and white. The American Kennel Club recognizes the American mixed breed. Angie Emerson, Jill’s BFF, and her husband, Wiley, have a pet Akita named Priscilla. Their bar is named for her—Priscilla’s.

What is Jill’s puke rule?

Jill’s description: “I never went into a bar I’d call a dive. I defined ‘dive’ as a place where it was dark when I walked in, but if I saw it in the light of day, I might throw up because the darkness hid the dirt and various stains and ugliness that defied naming.” Jill is 30 years old. Obviously, she isn’t like the 56-year-old Grace Kimball from my Endurance Mysteries, who rarely went into bars of any kind.

 

You describe Andy and Lance as “frat boys,” and they are partners in their gift shop. Are they also life partners?

Yes. They met in college and have been together ever since. Why they haven’t married, I don’t know. Maybe I’ll find out as the series continues. Lance is the Yin to Andy’s Yang. They’re good for each other.

 

Other than her phone, Jill seems very organized and prepared. Was she a Girl Scout?

I’m absolutely sure she was! In small-town Illinois, Girl Scouting was extremely popular when she was young. So now, as an adult, she over-prepares for everything. I was shocked when she was able to find her house keys in the bottom of an over-filled tote bag. She needed them fast.

 

Jill visualizes painting colors and equates them to emotions. When she wants to remain calm she thinks of a “calm shade of white and permanent blue.” What is permanent blue?

Permanent Blue is the name of a specific color of oil paint. It’s equivalent in acrylic paint is called ultramarine blue. It can be mixed with other colors like crimson or white to create new hues. It’s a deep blue and, when mixed with white, very calming. Jill’s emotions are closely tied to colors.

 

I haven’t found Chablis wine in years. Where do Jill and Angie buy it?

Chablis wine comes from a region in France. I believe you can buy it on all kinds of internet sites. Angie and Jill buy it at a wine store in town that specializes in all varieties of wines. We have such a store in my current town of Monmouth, Illinois. They have Chablis.

 

Why does Jill compare Carolyn to the Lady of Shalott? What does that have to do with the title of this book?

Carolyn loved that poem from high school by Alfred Tennyson. The story of the Lady of Shalott is sad and lonely. Everything around her is white and colorless, all pale hues. She had a curse put on her that if she left her tower, escaping to the real—and colorful—world, she’d die. She chose to leave and escape from her prison. Carolyn compares herself to the Lady of Shalott because she is unhappy, and she sees her life in their small town as depressing and limited. She wants to leave and have a fuller life. She says if Jill were to create a painting of her life in Apple Grove she’d call it “Death in a Pale Hue.”

 

Why does Jill take risks that she knows could get her fired or worse?

First, she’s young. The longer she’s in Apple Grove, the more confidence she begins to gain again. Second, she’s with Angie. The two of them have a history of taking risks, and they like the excitement of being partners in crime. Third, she takes some risks out of loyalty to their friend, Carolyn. Loyalty is a quality she values. At times, I wanted to tell her to stop and not take these risks, but she didn’t listen to me. One of her risks involved a shotgun full of buckshot. I’m not sure she’ll ever learn.

 

What’s next for Jill and her family?

Death in a Bygone Hue will be out in June 2023. It continues a few months after the first book. Someone close to Jill is murdered right off the bat. Whew! The estate is large and leaves a great deal of money to both Jill and the art center. The murder victim’s family is cut out of the will. If Jill is convicted of the murder, the family inherits the estate. If Jill dies, the family inherits the estate. Jill is in trouble again.